Fans got a glimpse of area football teams May 23, in the annual Spring Jamboree, at Armwood High.
Plant City defeated Durant 23-0 in the first half, before Armwood shutout Strawberry Crest 34-0 in the second.
Plant City took advantage of four Durant turnovers, including three fumbles. After Hassan Bailey scored on a 15-yard run, Patrick Colleran recovered a blocked punt and returned it for a touchdown to put PCHS up 13-0.
After a field goal, the Raiders scored again on a Sawyer Dawson interception return for 80 yards.
“Our kids came out and played hard,” PCHS head coach Wayne Ward said. “We did a heck of a job on all three phases of the game, and that’s something that we worked really hard on this spring.”
Although Durant head coach Mike Gottman was disappointed by his team’s mistakes, he said the Cougars will use the game as motivation.
“We made a lot of mistakes, and that’s the bottom line,” he said. “It’s a learning experience for us, and we just have to dig in and just try and get better.”
Strawberry Crest had a rough night turning the ball over against Armwood, including four interceptions thrown by quarterback Tristan Hyde. Two of Hyde’s four interceptions were returned for touchdowns for Armwood.
Strawberry Crest struggled to get anything going against the athletic Armwood defense, racking up more turnovers and penalty yards than completions and yards gained.
“It’s never as bad as it looks and it’s never as good as it seems, either, but even with a 34-0 defeat, we’re going to find a silver lining,” SCHS head coach John Kelly said. “We’re going to learn from it and grow from it and go into the summer with the mentality that we’re going to work hard.”
Contact Matt Mauney at mmauney@plantcityobserver.com.